Justin Lebron officially has liftoff.
The No. 18 overall pick in last month's Draft -- now the Reds' No. 3 prospect -- drilled a moonshot for his first professional home run, accounting for High-A Dayton's offense in a 5-1 loss to Lake County on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park.
The Alabama product entered Friday's action red-hot through his first three Minor League games, having collected five hits in 12 at-bats while posting a .962 OPS with a walk and a stolen base. Lebron recorded two of those knocks in his pro debut on Tuesday, in which he singled and doubled in the first two innings.
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"I think one of the biggest things for me is just going up there and competing," Lebron said. "Coming to the Reds organization, I'm fortune enough to start at a good affiliate that’s clinched a spot in the playoffs. So just to be part of something that is ultimately bigger than a single game and to be able to bring something to the organization -- I think that's allowing me to have success.
"Also, a fresh new start is not something that I'm used to, so I think that allows me to just go out there and play free and have fun."
Batting second against Lake County on Friday, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound shortstop worked the count full in his first at-bat against Jacob Zibin and saw six total pitches from the righty before being called out on strikes in the opening frame.
Lebron stepped in against Zibin again with one out and the bases empty in the fourth and clobbered the first pitch he saw from the Guardians prospect, launching a 95 mph inside heater into orbit beyond the wall in left for a game-tying dinger.
"Going into the first at-bat, he threw me everything in his arsenal and I was seeing it pretty well," Lebron said. "I probably missed a few pitches that I should have hit, but going into the next at-bat, since I was able to see every pitch, I felt pretty comfortable and that I had the upper hand then. He threw me a heater with the first pitch and I saw it clean and it came out kind of flat and I went for it.
"When you hit a ball really well, you don’t really feel it come off the bat. So I knew I swung at a good pitch to hit and got all of it. When it was in the air, all I could think was, 'Please, don't wrap foul.'"
As he rounded second, Lebron could hear the cheers from his family in the stands, but the moment of hitting his first pro homer had not dawned on him just yet.
"At the time, I actually didn't realize it. I was just excited that I put a run on the board and was able to tie the game up," he said. "But then I got the silent treatment in the dugout and it all just sunk in.
"That was a surreal feeling."
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Lebron was once the frontrunner to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 Draft early on last year, a season he finished with a .316/.421/.636 slash line. But -- despite playing a key role in Alabama's first team to reach the Men's College World Series since 1999 -- an uneven junior season for the Crimson Tide led him to slide out of top 10 consideration. Still, he became the second-highest pick in Alabama history when he went to the Reds, who signed him for a bit over slot at just under $5 million.
The 21-year-old added 15 pounds and significant bat speed in college, giving him well-above-average raw power from the right side of the plate.
Lebron sports plus tools across the board -- led by his 70-grade speed -- and has flashed signs early on in his pro career of being an elite defender. He has also exhibited a quick first step and finished 2026 with the fifth most stolen bases among the NCAA Division I ranks with 42 swipes (in 43 attempts). His arm strength also allows him to make any throw needed from anywhere at short.
"I feel like one of my biggest things when it comes to playing baseball is to strike fear into your opponents' eyes, and whenever I get in the box, I want the pitcher to look at me and say, 'I don’t want to face him or let him get on base because he's going to cause havoc,'" Lebron said. "I've trained with that mentality my whole life and I continue to work day in and day out to be that type of player."